Eurovision Song Contest 2016
|withdraw = |vote = Each delegation awards 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs excluding their own. |previous = 2015 |next = 2017 |presenters = Måns Zelmerlöw & Petra Mede |director = Sven Stojanovic |opening = TBA |interval = TBA |winner = TBA |nul = TBD but unlikely due to new procedure }} The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 will be the 61st of its kind and will be held at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden thanks to Måns Zelmerlöw's win the previous year in Vienna. The preliminary dates were determined at the 2015 Head of Delegations meeting to be on the 10th, 12th and 14th of May 2016 - the same as that of the 2011 contest in Germany. These dates were made official with the announcement of the host city on 8 July 2015. 43 nations will take part in Stockholm, matching the total set in 2008 and 2011. Returning to the contest this year is Ukraine, who sat out 2015 due to financial problems. Australia will also return to the Contest, despite Jon Ola Sand stating that they wouldn't return if they didn't winhttp://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=173093, however, the country will now have to pass through the semifinal stage. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be returning after their last participation in 2012, BHRT able to secure the funds needed to participate. Both Bulgaria and Croatia are making their returns as well, their last participations being in 2013. Portugal decided to withdraw. It is the third time for Stockholm to host the contest, and the second time the Globe has hosted the event - the last being in 2000. It is also the first time since the new millennium a venue has hosted the contest twice.http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=stockholm_to_host_2016_eurovision_song_contest Two smaller venues in the Globe complex will act as supplementary areas: the Annexet will house the delegations and the Hovet will act as the main press centre. Format Presenters After much speculations, it was revealed on 14 December 2015 that 2013 presenter Petra Mede and defending Eurovision winner Måns Zelmerlöw would be the 2016 presenters. Both had been the heavy favorites for the job, and Zelmerlöw becomes the 4th former contestant to present the show the year directly following his win, joining Toto Cutugno, Marie N and Eldar Gasimov in that select group. Petra Mede joins Katie Boyle and Jacqueline Joubert as the only people to present the contest more than once. Theme This year's theme is Come Together, inspired by the Beatles song of the same name. The event's executive producer, Martin Österdahl, explains the meaning like this: "The Eurovision Song Contest is never about borders, politics or ideologies. It is about reaching across all the boundaries that separates us human beings from each other". Voting format Full video with explanation here. From 2016, there will be a new voting format. The professional juries and televoters from each country will each award a separate set of points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12. The procedure will go ahead as normal, with the spokespersons announcing the jury votes. The televotes will be counted and combined and announced by the hosts at the end of the show with the country with the fewest televotes being announced first, leading up to the eventual winner. This will create more excitement for the viewers. Incidents Xavier Naidoo (Germany) *Xavier Naidoo was due to represent Germany at the 2016 Contest, but due to various negative reactions from fans, he was withdrawn by NDR on 21st November 2015.http://escxtra.com/2015/11/21/ndr-withdraws-xavier-naidoo-from-eurovision/ Participants The semi-final allocation draw was held on 25 January 2016 at Stockholm City Hall, and hosted by Alexandra Pascalidou and Jovan Radomir. The insignia handover ceremony took place before the draw began, officially beginning the countdown to the contest. On 23 September 2015, SVT announced that the six pre-qualified countries (host country Sweden and the Big Five) would perform in the semifinal they are allocated to vote in while still keeping their status as finalists. The performances will consist of pre-recorded rehearsal footage instead of the use of clips from their preview videos. The pots are as follows, calculated by the EBU's voting providers Digame and based on voting patterns over the past 10 years: Pre-Allocations As per a request by IBA on 21 September 2015 which was approved by the EBU Reference Group, Israel has been pre-allocated to compete in semifinal 2 as its Memorial Day holiday falls on the day of semifinal 1. Due to scheduling conflicts, Germany has been pre-allocated to broadcast and vote in semifinal 2 as per a request from ARD/NDR, which was approved by the Reference Group. Sweden was pre-allocated to broadcast and vote in semifinal 1 as mentioned by Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand before the start of the semi allocation draw. Returning Artists Semi Final One , and will vote and perform in this semi. It will take place on 10 May 2016. Semi Final Two , and the will vote and perform in this semi. It will take place on 12 May 2016. Grand Final All countries will vote. The final will take place on 14 May 2016. Sweden's place in the running order was decided during the Head of Delegations meetings in March 2016, and it was decided that Sweden will perform 9th on the night. Withdrawals * RTVA confirmed that Andorra will not participate in 2016 due to financial difficulties. * 1FLTV confirmed that Liechtenstein will not debut in 2016, but a 2017 start is being considered. * RTL confirmed that Luxembourg will not return for 2016. * TMC confirmed that Monaco will not return for 2016. * RTP confirmed that Portugal will withdraw for 2016 due to restructuring at the broadcaster. However, they are not ruling out participation in 2017. * RTVS confirmed that Slovakia will not return for 2016. * TRT announced on 2 November 2015 that Turkey will not return for 2016. The news was later confirmed by OGAE Turkey. Additionally, on 3 June 2015 the EBU has denied the rumors that Kosovo will debut (as it is not a full or associate EBU member) and China will participate as a guest. References Category:Sweden Category:Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Category:21st Century Eurovision